Systems analysis and design

ffirs.qxd 11/23/11 1:26 PM Page vi

This page is intentionally left blank

SYSTEM

ANALYSIS AND

DESIGN

Fifth Edition

ffirs.qxd 11/23/11 1:26 PM Page i

ffirs.qxd 11/23/11 1:26 PM Page ii

This page is intentionally left blank

SYSTEM

ANALYSIS AND

DESIGN

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

http://www.wiley.com/college/dennis

Fifth Edition

ALAN DENNIS

Indiana University

BARBARA HALEY WIXOM

University of Virginia

ROBERTA M. ROTH

University of Northern Iowa

ffirs.qxd 11/23/11 1:26 PM Page iii

VP & PUBLISHER: Don Fowley

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Beth Lang Golub

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Elizabeth Mills

MARKETING MANAGER: Christopher Ruel

DESIGNER: Maureen Eide

SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER: Janis Soo

SENIOR PRODUCTION EDITOR: Joyce Poh

This book was set in 10.5/12 Times New Roman by Aptara and printed and bound by RR Donnelley.

The cover was printed by RR Donnelley.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of knowledge and understanding for

more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Our

company is built on a foundation of principles that include responsibility to the communities we serve and

where we live and work. In 2008, we launched a Corporate Citizenship Initiative, a global effort to address

the environmental, social, economic, and ethical challenges we face in our business. Among the issues we

are addressing are carbon impact, paper specifications and procurement, ethical conduct within our busi￾ness and among our vendors, and community and charitable support. For more information, please visit our

website: www.wiley.com/go/citizenship.

Copyright © 2012, 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976

United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization

through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222 Rosewood

Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should

be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ

07030-5774, (201)748-6011, fax (201)748-6008, website http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Evaluation copies are provided to qualified academics and professionals for review purposes only, for use in

their courses during the next academic year. These copies are licensed and may not be sold or transferred

to a third party. Upon completion of the review period, please return the evaluation copy to Wiley. Return

instructions and a free of charge return shipping label are available at www.wiley.com/go/returnlabel. Out￾side of the United States, please contact your local representative.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dennis, Alan.

Systems analysis and design /Alan Dennis, Barbara Haley Wixom, Roberta M. Roth.–5th ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-05762-9 (acid-free paper)

1. System design. 2. System analysis. 3. Computer architecture. I. Wixom, Barbara Haley,

1969-II. Roth, Roberta M. (Roberta Marie), 1955-III. Title.

QA76.9.S88D464 2012

004.2’2–dc23

2011043317

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CREDITS

ffirs.qxd 11/23/11 1:26 PM Page iv

To Kelly

To Chris, Haley, and Hannah

To my father—an inspiration to all who know him; and as always, to Rich and the boys.

ffirs.qxd 11/23/11 1:26 PM Page v

ffirs.qxd 11/23/11 1:26 PM Page vi

This page is intentionally left blank

PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK

Systems Analysis and Design (SAD) is an exciting, active field in which analysts

continually learn new techniques and approaches to develop systems more effec￾tively and efficiently. However, there is a core set of skills that all analysts need to

know no matter what approach or methodology is used. All information systems

projects move through the four phases of planning, analysis, design, and imple￾mentation; all projects require analysts to gather requirements, model the business

needs, and create blueprints for how the system should be built; and all projects

require an understanding of organizational behavior concepts like change manage￾ment and team building.

This book captures the dynamic aspects of the field by keeping students

focused on doing SAD while presenting the core set of skills that we feel every sys￾tems analyst needs to know today and in the future. This book builds on our pro￾fessional experience as systems analysts and on our experience in teaching SAD in

the classroom.

This book will be of particular interest to instructors who have students do a

major project as part of their course. Each chapter describes one part of the process,

provides clear explanations on how to do it, gives a detailed example, and then has

exercises for the students to practice. In this way, students can leave the course with

experience that will form a rich foundation for further work as a systems analyst.

OUTSTANDING FEATURES

A Focus on Doing SAD

The goal of this book is to enable students to do SAD—not just read about it, but

understand the issues so that they can actually analyze and design systems. The

book introduces each major technique, explains what it is, explains how to do it,

presents an example, and provides opportunities for students to practice before they

do it in a real-world project. After reading each chapter, the student will be able to

perform that step in the system development life cycle (SDLC) process.

PREFACE

fpref.qxd 11/23/11 1:27 PM Page vii

Rich Examples of Success and Failure

The book includes a running case about a fictitious company called Tune Source.

Each chapter shows how the concepts are applied in situations at Tune Source.

Unlike running cases in other books, this text focuses examples on planning, man￾aging, and executing the activities described in the chapter, rather than on detailed

dialogue between fictitious actors. In this way, the running case serves as a template

that students can apply to their own work. Each chapter also includes numerous

Concepts in Action boxes that describe how real companies succeeded—and

failed—in performing the activities in the chapter. Many of these examples are

drawn from our own experiences as systems analysts.

Incorporation of Object-Oriented Concepts and Techniques

The field is moving toward object-oriented concepts and techniques, both

through UML 2.0, the new standard for object-oriented analysts and design, as

well as by gradually incorporating object-oriented concepts into traditional tech￾niques. We have taken two approaches to incorporating object-oriented analysis

and design into the book. First, we have integrated several object-oriented con￾cepts into our discussion of traditional techniques, although this may not be

noticed by the students because few concepts are explicitly labeled as object￾oriented concepts. For example, we include the development of use cases

as the first step in process modeling (i.e., data flow diagramming) in Chapter 4,

and the use (and reuse) of standard interface templates and use scenarios for

interface design in Chapter 9.

Second, and more obvious to students, we include a final chapter on the major

elements of UML 2.0 that can be used as an introduction to object-oriented analysts

and design. This chapter can be used at the end of a course—while students are busy

working on projects—or can be introduced after or instead of Chapters 5 and 6.

Real-World Focus

The skills that students learn in a systems analysis and design course should mirror

the work that they ultimately will do in real organizations. We have tried to make

this book as “real” as possible by building extensively on our experience as profes￾sional systems analysts for organizations such as IBM, the U.S. Department of

Defense, and the Australian Army. We have also worked with diverse industry advi￾sory boards of IS professionals and consultants in developing the book and have

incorporated their stories, feedback, and advice throughout. Many students who use

this book will eventually apply the skills on the job in a business environment, and

we believe that they will have a competitive edge by understanding what success￾ful practitioners feel is relevant in the real world.

Project Approach

We have presented the topics in this book in the SDLC order in which an analyst

encounters them in a typical project. Although the presentation necessarily is linear

(because students have to learn concepts in the way in which they build on each

other), we emphasize the iterative, complex nature of SAD as the book unfolds.

viii Preface

fpref.qxd 11/23/11 1:27 PM Page viii

The presentation of the material should align well with courses that encourage stu￾dents to work on projects, because it presents topics as students need to apply them.

Graphic Organization

The underlying metaphor for the book is doing SAD through a project. We have tried

to emphasize this graphically throughout the book so that students can better under￾stand how the major elements in the SDLC are related to each other. First, at the start

of every major phase of the system development life cycle, we present a graphic

illustration showing the major deliverables that will be developed and added to the

“project binder” during that phase. Second, at the start of each chapter, we present a

checklist of key tasks or activities that will be performed to produce the deliverables

associated with this chapter. These graphic elements—the binder of deliverables tied

to each phase and the task checklist tied to each chapter—can help students better

understand how the tasks, deliverables, and phases are related to and flow from one

to another.

Finally, we have highlighted important practical aspects throughout the book

by marking boxes and illustrations with a “push pin.” These topics are particularly

important in the practical day-to-day life of systems analysts and are the kind of

topics that junior analysts should pull out of the book and post on the bulletin board

in their office to help them avoid costly mistakes

WHAT’S NEW IN THE FIFTH EDITION

The fifth edition contains several significant enhancements, including new and

updated content, a new Spotlight on Ethics feature, a new example scenario, and

many new Concepts in Action.

In Part 1, Planning, the discussion of the role of the systems analyst has been

revised, with new emphasis on the business analyst role, plus an overview of poten￾tial career path options. New to this edition, Business Process Management (BPM)

is introduced to provide a context for how well-managed organizations continu￾ously seek to refine and enhance business processes. BPM frequently identifies the

need for new or revised information systems to support business processes. This

important connection between BPM and information system development pro￾jects is emphasized. The discussion of Business Process Automation (BPA), Busi￾ness Process Improvement (BPI), and Business Process Reengineering (BPR) has

been moved to Chapter 1 to help classify the types of projects that may be identi￾fied from BPM initiatives. The section on Economic Feasibility has been revised

and reorganized in response to requests from adopters of the book. We have moved

the explanation of the detailed calculations associated with project cash flow analy￾sis and measures of project value from an appendix into Chapter 1, and have

improved and clarified the discussion to aid student understanding. Finally, we have

expanded our discussion of Agile Development in the section on development

methodologies in order to provide more coverage of this development approach.

This textbook does not attempt to provide complete coverage of Agile Development

methodologies, however.

Part 2, Analysis, has been substantially changed in order to provide a more

rigorous and thorough treatment of Requirements Determination. We provide an

Preface ix

fpref.qxd 11/23/11 1:27 PM Page ix

expanded discussion on the categories of requirements that must be discovered in a

systems development project and how those requirements relate to each other. The

section on Requirement Elicitation techniques includes additional material on JAD

and eJAD. New emphasis is included on how systems analysts not only elicit

requirements, but also must make sense of them by applying Requirements Analy￾sis techniques. This new emphasis is an important change in this edition, as it

enables students to understand the critical role played by the system analyst in inter￾preting and translating business and user requirements into essential functional

requirements for the new system, not just as a “gatherer” of requirements. We have

also added considerably more coverage of Use Case Analysis in Chapter 4. We

believe that written use cases are increasingly more important in clarifying user

requirements and then transforming those requirements into functional require￾ments, and we have revised our discussion of this material to reflect this emphasis.

We have also developed a new example scenario used throughout this section of the

book to introduce and illustrate use cases, process models, and data models.

In Part 3, Design, the software acquisition strategies section has been revised

to include more coverage of application service providers and Software as a Ser￾vice. We have made substantial updates to the Architecture Design material, with

expanded explanation of the Client-Server computing model. We have also

included a discussion of several of the newer architectural concepts, including zero￾client computing, virtualization, and cloud computing.

Throughout the book, the chapter objectives have been revised to reflect more

active learning objectives. Chapter references to outside sources have been updated

to current resources wherever possible. The new Spotlight on Ethics features pro￾vide timely and real ethical dilemmas that confront systems analysts. New Con￾cepts in Action features appear throughout the book to provide updated, real-world

illustrations of the textbook content.

ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK

This book is organized by the phases of the systems development life cycle

(SDLC). Each chapter has been written to teach students specific tasks that analysts

need to accomplish over the course of a project, and the deliverables that will be

produced from the tasks. As students complete the book, tasks will be “checked

off ” and deliverables will be completed and filed in a project binder. Along the way,

students will be reminded of their progress by road maps that indicate where their

current task fits into the larger context of SAD.

Part 1 covers the first phase of the SDLC, the Planning Phase. Chapter 1

introduces the SDLC, the roles and skills needed for a project team, project initi￾ation, the systems request, and feasibility analysis. Chapter 2 discusses project

selection, the selection of an SDLC methodology for the project, and project man￾agement, with emphasis on the work plan, staffing plan, project charter, risk

assessment, and tools used to help manage and control the project.

Part 2 presents techniques needed during the analysis phase. In Chapter 3,

students are introduced to requirements determination and are taught a variety of

analysis techniques to help with business process automation, business process

improvement, and business process reengineering. Chapter 4 focuses on use

cases, Chapter 5 covers process models, and Chapter 6 explains data models and

normalization.

x Preface

fpref.qxd 11/23/11 1:27 PM Page x

The Design Phase is covered in Part 3 of the textbook. In Chapter 7, stu￾dents create an alternative matrix that compares custom, packaged, and outsourc￾ing alternatives. Chapter 8 focuses on designing the system architecture, which

includes the architecture design, hardware/software specification, and security

plan. Chapter 9 focuses on the user interface and presents interface design; in this

chapter, students learn how to create use scenarios, the interface structure dia￾gram, interface standards, and interface prototypes. Finally, data storage design

and program design are discussed in Chapters 10 and 11, which contain informa￾tion regarding the data storage design, the program structure chart, and program

specifications.

The Implementation Phase is presented in Chapters 12 and 13. Chapter 12

focuses on system construction, and students learn how to build and test the system.

It includes information about the test plan and user documentation. Conversion is

covered in Chapter 13, where students learn about the conversion plan, the change

management plan, the support plan, and the project assessment.

Chapter 14 provides a background of object orientation and explains several

key object concepts supported by the standard set of object-modeling techniques

used by systems analysts and developers. Then, we explain how to draw four of the

most effective models in UML: the use case diagram, the sequence diagram, the

class diagram, and the behavioral state machine diagram.

SUPPLEMENTS

(www.wiley.com/college/dennis)

Online Instructors Manual

The instructors manual provides resources to support the instructor both in and out

of the classroom:

• Short experiential exercises can be used to help students experience and

understand key topics in each chapter.

• Short stories have been provided by people working in both corporate and

consulting environments for instructors to insert into lectures to make con￾cepts more colorful and real.

• Additional mini-cases for every chapter allow students to perform some of

the key concepts that were learned in the chapter.

• Answers to end-of-chapter questions and exercises are provided.

Online Instructor’s Resources

• PowerPoint slides are provided that instructors can tailor to their classroom

needs and that students can use to guide their reading and studying activities.

• Test Bank includes a variety of questions ranging from multiple choice to

essay-style questions. A computerized version of the Test Bank is also available.

WebCT and Blackboard Courses

These online course management systems are tools that facilitate the organization

and delivery of course materials on the Web. Easy to use, they provide powerful

communication, loaded content, flexible course administration, and sophisticated

online testing and diagnostic systems.

Preface xi

fpref.qxd 11/23/11 1:27 PM Page xi

Student Web Site

• Web Resources provide instructors and students with Web links to resources

that reinforce the major concepts in each chapter. See http://www.wiley.com/

college/dennis.

• Web Quizzes help students prepare for class tests.

CASE Software

Two CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tools can be purchased with the text:

1. Visible Systems Corporation’s Visible Analyst Student Edition.

2. Microsoft’s Visio

Contact your local Wiley sales representative for details, including pricing and order￾ing information.

Project Management Software

A 60-day trial edition of Microsoft Project can be purchased with the textbook.

Note that Microsoft has changed their policy and no longer offers the 120-day trial

previously available. Contact your local Wiley sales representative for details.

Another option now available to education institutions adopting this Wiley

textbook. is a free 3-year membership to the MSDN Academic Alliance. The

MSDN AA is designed to provide the easiest and most inexpensive way for academic

departments to make the latest Microsoft software available in labs, classrooms,

and on student and instructor PCs.

Microsoft Project software is available through this Wiley and Microsoft

publishing partnership, free of charge with the adoption of any qualified Wiley text￾book. Each copy of Microsoft Project is the full version of the software, with no

time limitation, and can be used indefinitely for educational purposes. Contact

your Wiley sales representative for details. For more information about the MSDN

AA program, go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/academic/.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We extend our thanks to the many people who contributed to the preparation of this

fourth and past editions. We are indebted to the staff at John Wiley & Sons for their

support, including Beth Lang Golub, Executive Editor, Elizabeth Mills, Editorial

Assistant, Christopher Ruel, Marketing Manager, Joyce Poh, Senior Production

Editor, and Maureen Eide, Senior Designer.

We would like to thank the following reviewers and focus-group participants

for their helpful and insightful comments:

Name School

Qiyang Chen Montclair State University

Wayne E. Pauli Dakota State University

Anthony Scime The College at Brockport

Kathleen Hunter Walden University, School of Nursing

Ram B. Misra Montclair State University

Marisa Wilson Walden

Nancy Russo Northern Illinois University

Shouhong Wang University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

xii Preface

fpref.qxd 11/23/11 1:27 PM Page xii

James Anthos South University

Elaine Seeman East Carolina University

Seyed Roosta Albany State University

Gunes Koru UMBC

Supapon Cheniam Chulalongkorn University

Samuel C. Yang California State University Fullerton

Marisa Wilson Walden

Corrinne Fiedler University of Minnesota

Richard Gram WPI

Patty Santoianni Sinclair Community College

Jeff Tirschman Towson University

Arpan Jani University of Wisconsin—River Falls

Murugan Anandarajan Drexel University

Sharad Maheshwari Hampton University

Anthony Norcio UMBC

Michael Lapke Rhode Island College

Younghwa Gabe Lee University of Kansas

Bruce Hunt Cal State Fullerton

Peter Otto Union Graduate College

Chuck Downing Northern Illinois University

Younghwa Gabe Lee University of Kansas

Dr Wolfgang Garn University of Surrey

Alice Shemi University of Botswana

Pawel Kalczynski Cal State Fullerton

Alan Anderson Gwinnett Technical Institute

Michael Martel Ohio University—Main Campus

Lawrence Feidelman FA U

Robert Nields Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

We would like to thank the many practioners from private practice, public organi￾zations, and consulting firms for helping us add a real-world component to this pro￾ject. A special remembrance goes to Matt Anderson from Accenture, who was a

role model for all who knew him—who demonstrated excellence in systems analy￾sis and design and in life in general.

Thanks also to our families and friends for their patience and support along the way,

especially to Christopher, Haley, and Hannah Wixom; Alec Dennis; and Richard Jones.

Alan Dennis Barb Wixom

[email protected] [email protected]

Robby Roth

[email protected]

Preface xiii

fpref.qxd 11/23/11 1:27 PM Page xiii